There are lots of challenges that go along with project workflow, particularly during the creative review and approval process. Oftentimes creative content is reviewed by a group, not a single individual. And groups of reviewers tend to have different perspectives on how content should be revised, which can lead to friction and delays.

It’s a good idea, both for the content creator who is soliciting feedback and the reviewer who is providing it, to make sure your communication is clear, courteous, and conducive to moving the project forward. Whether you’re using email, in-person meetings, or an online proofing tool, the following tips can help make collaborative creative reviews more effective.

As the creative, provide direction to each of your reviewers.
If your content is being reviewed by multiple people, it’s often because they have different areas of expertise. It can be helpful for your reviewers to know if there is a specific aspect of the content that you want them to focus on and/or if you’re looking for them to provide feedback from a particular perspective. For instance, if you’ve invited a customer service manager to review your newsletter article because you want to make sure her department’s information is correct, let her know that is where you want her to focus so she doesn’t stray into other areas that fall outside of her purview.

As the client, share the “why” behind your change requests.
As the reviewer, it can be very beneficial for you to provide explanations in support of your change requests. Not only will this let the content creator know what your goal is for the change, it will inform other reviewers who may disagree with your edit because they are unaware of your reason for making it. This should cut down on conflicting change requests or at least enable the content creator to make more informed decisions regarding what changes to make.

Collaborative creative reviews can be incredibly valuable to the process and the final product. For such reviews to be effective however, reviewers must be mindful of how their feedback impacts others, particularly the creative team. In next week’s webinar, Overcoming Creative Workflow Challenges, I will be discussing some of the additional challenges associated with project workflow—providing tips for improving efficiency from intake to approval. Join us on Thursday, September 25th from 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. EDT for this engaging, informative session. Register today.